In March 2022, UNEPʼs highest decision-making body, the United Nations Environment Assembly, adopted the resolution entitled, End Plastic Pollution: Towards an International Legally Binding Instrument. Through this resolution, the international community has decisively commenced concrete actions to respond to the problem of global marine plastic pollution by drafting an international treaty. This paper examines how this new treaty aims to end plastic pollution; and reviews the existing treaties in place to address plastic pollution, including The Basel Convention and its recent, Plastic Amendments. It also looks at the applicability of some environmental principles that could deal with the issue. This examination will provide some hints for the new global treaty on plastic pollution and its implications for the Arctic region.

In recent years, research on plastic pollution in the Arctic region has progressed rapidly in response to growing public interest in the problem of plastic pollution in the marine environment. As a result, it has been found that plastic pollution is widespread and ubiquitous in the Arctic despite its remoteness. Information is accumulating on the potential sources and processes of plastic pollution and potential impacts on Arctic wildlife. In this paper, the latest scientific findings are reviewed and future prospects for plastic pollution in the Arctic are discussed.

Waste management in Arctic indigenous communities has been affected by social and environmental changes that threaten their own well-being. In this paper, I report on the visit I took to Kaktovik, Alaska in August 2019, supplemented by information collected through various news sources. In this village, bones and chunks of meat from butchered bowhead whales have attracted polar bears close to human settlements along the coast. While this proximity with polar bears created an opportunity for bear-watching tourism, the safety of the local people has been jeopardized due to bears scavenging around the community and breaking into houses for food. Prior studies on waste management issues in Alaska Native communities have dealt mainly with environmental pollution derived from metal and plastic waste. In contrast, I argue that the disposal of organic waste should also be taken into consideration. Also, the ethnographic data presented here suggests that howwaste is handled should not be limited to dumpsters, but disposal in the open and temporary storage in large containers must also be properly investigated further.

The U. S. state of Alaska is home to many small native villages, many with no road access. In addition to geographical challenges such as transportation costs and climate change impacts, household waste disposal in remote areas also presents social challenges that are difficult to address within the existing legal framework. Therefore, in addition to the village governments that are institutionally responsible entities, outside entities such as the Arctic Council, indigenous groups, and non-profits, also play an important role. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to confirm not only the voice of supporters but also how the problem is being perceived by concerned local people. While the results of the questionnaire survey did not reveal major discrepancies between the parties, it did suggest that: (1) the types of problems differ depending on regional differences; (2) state regulations and indigenous norms in the handling of animal remains differ; and (3) there seems to be a relation between changes in subsistence activities and disposal sites. There is great significance in redefining village waste management as an Arctic issue, though previously it had been considered a local issue. It raises awareness among the international community while at the same time teaches that recognizing these specific differences among regions, and how local people in these areas address their problems, can be and important tool for navigating solutions in the future.

In the Arctic region, there are many small, local communities that have populations of just a few hundred. Most of the roads here do not connect with other areas and the main means of movement and transportation are ships and aircraft. Originally, indigenous people lived traditionally and in harmony with nature, however with the current influx of various commodities, the capitalistic Western lifestyle has become commonplace. As a result, waste similar to that of Developed country's is being generated. Due to limited means of transportation and its remoteness from other areas, all waste is now being carelessly dumped or burned in the open. Greenland is no exception and is also facing many challenges regarding the treatment and disposal of waste. After introducing some concrete examples of waste disposal in small, local communities in Greenland, this paper reviews the waste management policies adopted by the Greenlandic government up to now. The paper also introduces the Waste Management Plan 2020-2031 formulated in 2020, which suggests that drastic changes in Greenland's waste management systems are expected in the next decade.